The New Invasion
by Badgermorphs
Summary: Walking home from the mall one day, four friends stumble across a secret that will changes their lives.
1. Sarah

**Chapter One : Sarah**

            My name is Sarah.

            I can't tell you where I live or what my last name is. It's just too dangerous to do that. They would find us, and then our planet would lose the only thing protecting us from them.

            We are the Animorphs. They are the Yeerks. We are the combatants in a war of the sort you'd expect to see in a sci-fi movie. Except, this is no movie. Everything I'm about to tell you is real. It _all_ is real. Whether you believe it or not is up to you.

            We are fighting the Yeerks with all our might. Nine children against millions of aliens. Not at all what you would call even odds, but we are trying.

            Okay, enough of the melodrama. I almost forgot to tell you about the Andalites. These aliens are actually on the human's side. They will return someday to Earth and help us out. Until that day, we fight. Without them, there really would be no hope. A small, sliver of hope is much better than no hope at all. These Andalites are the ones who have bestowed us with the amazing powers that make us Animorphs. I've actually never seen one yet, other than the evil Andalite-Controller Visser Three, but I hear they are beautiful.

            Controllers. Yet another thing I've nearly forgotten to tell you of. You see, the Yeerks themselves aren't all that bad. They are merely slimy green slugs. However, Yeerks can enter a creature's brain and control them. Creatures with Yeerks inside their brains are Controllers. They can be anywhere or anything. That is why we must be so cautious. Don't ask me how these Yeerks control creatures in the manner they do; I could only answer in scientific terms that I have no idea how to spell. I recall it involves the Yeerks attatching themselves to the nerve endings within your brain. No one, except the Yeerks, knows for sure. And I don't plan on asking a Yeerk anytime soon.

            Right now you are probably confused. I would be too, if I were you. So, to fix your confusion, I will tell you everything from the beginning. When I say beginning, I mean it was the beginning for Cristina, Andrew, Oliver, and I. The others had already become Animorphs.

            The four of us were just returning from a shopping frenzy at the mall. I, myself, wouldn't call it a "frenzy"; I hadn't bought anything. The others did most of the shopping. 

            Anyway, we were just passing the construction sight when it started to rain. And I mean it rained. 

             "Let's take the shortcut!" yelled Cristina over the downpour. She gestured at the construction sight.

            I nodded in agreement, and so did Oliver and Andrew. Both of the boys adored Cristina, and would jump off a bridge to please her. It was no surprise they agreed. I knew they would've never taken the shortcut if Cristina hadn't mentioned it.

            The shortcut I'm referring to is an abandoned construction sight. They had started to build another shopping center there or something, but had quit when it was half finished. Now, the construction sight was where all the shady people hung out. This was definitely not a place to cross alone. If you were in a large group, though, you should be alright.

            It started raining harder, if such a thing were possible. We ran into the construction sight as fast as we could. Which, now that we can morph, doesn't seem too fast at all.

            I was in the lead, since my track team had taught me to run well. I was running down a small hill when I tripped over something and landed hard on my face.

            The worst thing was that everyone behind me had seen my less-than-graceful fall.

            "Sarah! Are you alright?" Cristina exclaimed.

            Andrew and Oliver were struggling to contain fits of laughter. They weren't succeeding. 

            I nodded at Cristina. I was still sprawled on the ground and too winded to get up. I knew that if I spoke, it would come out as a squeak.

            "This is what she…er…" Oliver, who was speaking, stifled some laughter. I glared fiercely at him. "tripped over." Oliver, now completely consumed by laughter, hoisted a strange, blue square thing. All of my anger was replaced by fascination. This object he was holding was like nothing I've ever seen before. I rose to my feet and laid a hand on one of the square's sides. Cristina and Andrew suddenly were silent. I think they were as amazed as I was. They touched the square too.

            What happened next was so amazing, and so strange, that I can hardly accurately describe it. I recall it as a strange light radiating from the cube and shooting up my arm and the rest of my body. It felt strange, but it wasn't unpleasant. The whole thing lasted only a second, but, to me, it felt like a lifetime. When the last glimmer of light faded from the cube, we wordlessly dropped the cube.

            "What was _that?!" I exclaimed._

            I didn't get an answer. The others had already taken off running, and I stood alone with the rain pouring down in torrents. I stole one final look at the strange cube before I, too, retreated to my house. 

            I think all of us knew, that night, that the strange cube had changed us. I think we were just too afraid to admit it, but we were forced to admit it the following day.

************************************************************************

            A stressful day of school had erased all thoughts on the strange square from our minds. The day passed swiftly, and soon it was time to depart. I boarded my bus, and slept the whole ride home. I recall having some nightmares about Coach Clark, our evil health teacher (who we all despise).

            I finally arrived at my bus stop. I got off, saying goodbye to the bus driver, and began the walk up my long driveway. I took my time. I noticed a lone red-tailed hawk circling overhead. This hawk was resident on our property, and we often saw him while caring for our animals. I waved at the hawk for no particular reason. I was in a splendid mood, and I tend to behave in such a crazy manner when I'm in a good mood.

            See, my family and I live on a sort of farm. We have four horses, a Sicilian donkey, two Siberian Huskies, a cat, a goldfish, and two crazy ferrets. I'm the only child in my household, so most of this array of animals belongs to me. To be precise, I own the ferrets, one of the horses, the two huskies, and the goldfish. I also intend on taking all of my animal companions to college with me.

            I unlocked my front door and closed it softly behind me. My mom hated it when I closed the door loudly.

            "I'm home!" I yelled.

            I honestly didn't expect an answer; I knew both of my parents were busy working or cleaning.

            I walked to my room and deposited my school things in my closet. I fed my fish, and watched him devour his food for a while. Goldfish are truly ravenous eaters. Then I ambled over to my ferrets' cage (Yes, they do stay in my room.).

            Pika, my dark sable ferret, was awake, so I took her out. Her brother Lupin, a black eyed white, was fast asleep in his hammock.

            I sat on my bed and placed Pika in my lap. As I stroke her silky fur, I thought about how fun it must be to be a ferret. Abstract thoughts often fill my mind, so this new thought was nothing out of the ordinary. I mean, ferrets get to sleep all day while us humans work. I envy them for that. I wish I could sleep at my leisure.

            In my lap, Pika froze, as though she were in a trance. The strange moment passed quickly, and soon Pika leapt from my lap onto the floor. Here, she proceeded to leap and jump around in the energetic acrobatics ferrets are known for. Sometimes I almost wish I could be a ferret, for they're always joyful and are extremely agile. I bet being a ferret would be quite fun, in fact. 

            The strangest thing I've ever experienced happened in that instant. I felt myself… shrinking. I looked down at myself. I was growing fur! I tried to scream, but it came out as a ferret chatter. I felt my bones shifting, my spine grown shorter, and my tailbone stretching out into a rat-like tail. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't pleasant, either. It was like cracking your knuckles, I guess. It was uncomfortable but felt good at the same time. My fingers, arms, and legs shortened. I fell forward on all fours; unable to stand on my hind legs anymore. My face elongated and became a snout. Pika, who had just now noticed me, squeaked in surprise. She dashed across the room, climbed into her cage, closed it, and cowered beneath her ferret igloo.

            I glanced across the room into the mirror on my dresser. My reflection nearly made me faint from shock. It wasn't blonde-haired me staring back at me in the mirror, but dark-furred Pika. I had changed into a ferret!

             Instantly, my mind was assaulted by the urges of a ferret. I wanted to dash around, leap into the air, and cause general chaos. I struggled to regain control of myself. I took several deep breaths through my wet ferret nose. My sense of smell was outstanding! Had I known that I could change back into my human form, I would've explored a bit in my ferret body. But at this moment, all I cared about was returning to my human form.

            I thought. This was rather difficult to do, since I was struggling against that ferret side of my mind throughout the whole ordeal. 

            One of my greatest assets is the ability to remain calm and in control in bad situations. Had anyone else been in my shoes right now, they probably would panic. I know from past experiences, that freaking out does more harm than good.

             I realized that my thinking about being a ferret had probably triggered the transformation. So, the only logical way to return to my human form was to think about being human. I also realized another thing. I had been right that previous night in saying that the blue cube had changed us. I believe it gave us the ability to change into things. That means Cristina, Andrew, and Oliver could change too! I decided to call them.

             I was then I realized that I was human again. I was naked, but at least I was human. I swiftly put on my clothes, and then reached for the phone in my bedroom. I had to tell Cristina!


	2. Cristina

**Chapter 2: Cristina**

            My name is Cristina. I can't tell you anymore about myself. Not my last name, where I live, my school; I can't even tell you what grade I'm in. But I can tell you this: I , along with a close group of my friends, can become any animal or person that I touch. You probably already know how from Sarah.

             "Hello? Oh, hey Sarah, what's up?" I asked, hearing endless laughter on the other end of the phone. "No really, what's up?"

             "You're going to find this hard to believe, but I just turned into Pika."

            "WHAT? How? Why?" I exclaimed.

             "Come over to my house and I'll explain. Bring Oliver and Andrew with you too." She hung up.

            So, still holding the phone, I called the guys and told them what Sarah had said. Thirty minutes later, the four of us were in Sarah's room; Sarah at her computer, and myself and the guys sitting on the bed.

            "I'll show you that I wasn't dreaming, but you can't freak out. You might scare me."

              As soon as she had said this, her fingers became what looked to be claws! Then she began to grow fur and shrink simultaneously. When she had finally stopped shrinking, she was lost somewhere in the clothes she had been wearing. I quietly hopped down from her bed and crawled over to where Sarah should have been. I reached in, then stood up.

             "What's in your hand, Cristina?" Andrew asked.

            I turned to face them. They saw me holding a small, furry ferret.

             "Say hello to Pika, or should I say Sarah."

            Realizing that I was holding what had been a girl mere minutes before, Oliver and Andrew completely freaked, both falling off the bed and hitting the floor with a loud thud. 

            "Holy Crap! There is no way that you are holding Sarah!" exclaimed Andrew.

            ~Yes she is. Look, I'll crawl up her arm~

            As we heard that, the ferret ran up my arm and sat on my shoulder.

             "I heard that, but I didn't. I swear I heard Sarah say something from inside my head!" I said to them.

            "Good, I'm not losing my mind then," Oliver sighed.

            "That makes three of us then," added Andrew.

             ~I'm going to change back now. Uh, Cristina? Can you make sure the guys keeps their backs to me, please? And could you just place me where my clothes are?~

            I did what she asked. The next thing we heard was the sound of bones and organs growing and rearranging. It was really gross hearing it.

             "Ok, I'm back, and fully clothed," said Sarah.

             "How in the heck did you do that?" yelled Oliver, Andrew, and I in unison.

             "Well, I was holding Pika and was petting her when I felt a tingling sensation as Pika went into a kind of trance. Then I was thinking to myself what it would be like to be a ferret when I started to become one! To change back, I just thought about my human form. I know it sounds painful, but you can't feel anything. You just hear it." She explained.

            "So we can all do this?" I asked.

            "Yeah, we can. I think that blue thing we found last night gave us this power to turn into animals, and maybe even people."

             "Soon as I get home, I'm going to become a guinea pig," I said.

            "I have to warn the three of you though. When you morph back to your human form, you don't have your clothes on. So be careful about that," Sarah said.

            After she said that, Andrew and Oliver gave each other sneaky looks and then gave me the same look. I chose to ignore them. We heard a door downstairs open then close.

             "For our safety, we need to meet somewhere else where no one is around. No one can know our secret," I said at a whisper.

            "That's great Cristina, but where would we go?" Andrew asked me.

             "Well…I guess we could…" I started to say, but Oliver cut me off.

            "We could meet at my house, remember?" Oliver said.

            Oh yeah, duh. Oliver lives next door to me. For safety, I won't say everything except that he lives alone, so we're safe at his house.

             "Now that that's taken care of, I'll head for my house with these two so the three of us can become guinea pigs," I said, pointing at Andrew and Oliver. Having three guinea pigs worked out nicely.

             "Alright. Tell me tomorrow at school how it goes," Sarah said to us as she led us to her front door.

             "Trust me. These two here won't leave out any details," I replied, as Andrew, Oliver, and I walked out and for my house.


	3. Oliver

**Chapter 3: Oliver**

            I'm Oliver. You probably know the drill well by now. I can't tell you my last name, where I live, and etc. etc. etc... You'll find that all of us are limited in the same sort of way.

            Don't get me wrong, I'd love to tell you everything. The fact is, though, that I can't. All I can say is that I'm the winning-obsessed, cute, and witty one of the group.

            Now, back to our story. I was at my house, anxiously awaiting the arrival of Cristina. And the guinea pigs. And Andrew too, I guess. 

             I was extremely freaked out at the time. Let me put it this way: if you had seen one of your friends turn into a ferret, you'd be scared too. I continually hope that what I had seen was one of Sarah's infamous tricks, but I knew it wasn't. Besides, it would be nearly impossible to pull a prank that big. I mean, only professional magicians have the tools needed to create the image of them transforming into an animal.

             I was also very nervous, because we were about to try changing into a guinea pig. I was scared that it might hurt, even though Sarah said it wouldn't. But if Cristina wanted to try it, I was willing to try it, even if it did hurt. Okay, I admit it. I have a huge crush on Cristina. I envy Andrew, because he went with Cristina to her house to get the "pigs". 

            I heard a scratching at my front door. Since I was waiting in the entry hall, I reached the door in no time.

            No one was there.

            "Woof!"

            I jumped in surprise. I looked down and saw a pretty blue eyed Siberian husky.

            ~It's Sarah, Oliver. Are they here yet?~

             I gaped. First Sarah had changed into her ferret, and now she was her dog!

            "Uh….no…I thought Cristina said it was just the three of us!" I exclaimed.

            ~I decided to come and watch you all change into the pigs.~

            The husky trotted nonchalantly by me and into my house.

             "Yes, you may come in." I sarcastically muttered under my breath.

            ~Nobody likes an attitude.~ retorted Sarah. I noticed that she was carrying a bag of clothes in her mouth.

            "Ding dong!" chimed the doorbell.

            Cristina had arrived! I walked to the door while containing the urge to jump up and down with glee.

             I opened the door and was greeted by Cristina's glorious smile. I felt myself turning red.

             Cristina had on her tight white tank top and bicycle shorts. She wore these whenever she wanted to wear comfortable clothing.

            She hoisted two pet carriers in front of my face. Andrew stood grinning behind her. I envied him even more. He had the best view…

            "The guinea pigs have arrived!" she exclaimed. I could hear them chirping.

            I gave her my best smile and invited her into my house.

            ~Hey guys!~ Sarah said in an all-too-cheerful voice.

            "Hey, you're here too!" Andrew exclaimed.

            "Thank you, Mr. Obvious." I muttered. I was still jealous.

             "Okay. Let's try this changing thing." Said Cristina in her best business voice. "I brought José, Josefina, and Rebecca with me. I'll change into José; Oliver can change into Josefina, and Andrew can change into Rebecca."

             "How come we get the girls?" moaned Andrew and I in unison.

             "Please?" begged Cristina. She shot us one of her smiles.

            We consented without hesitation. I would do anything Cristina asked if she smiled at me like that.

             Cristina sat in the entry hall and opened one of the carriers. She handed me a squirming guinea pig.

            Then she reached in the crate again and pulled out another pig. This one she handed to Andrew. Andrew didn't look too pleased about handling a rodent. I wasn't either, but if Cristina wanted me to do it, I would. No questions asked.

            I stroked the guinea pig in my lap and concentrated on it. I could see that Cristina and Andrew's pigs had already gone into a trance. Mine was still struggling to get away.

            Slowly, my pig eventually did go into a trance. I handed it back to Cristina, who put it back into the crate.

            "Are you ready to try this?" she said with a smile at both of us.

            "Sure." I muttered. Andrew nodded.

            "Remember: think about being a guinea pig. Close your eyes, because seeing Sarah morph was freaky, and I can only imagine what changing into a guinea pig will look like," instructed Cristina.

            I nodded. I closed my eyes. What would being a guinea pig be like? They get to sleep all day, and eat nuts and vegetables. The chirping noises they make are weird, but cool nonetheless. I was too deep in my thoughts to notice the changes taking place in me, or hear the cracking sounds of my bones shifting. 

             ~Oliver, open your eyes.~ that was Cristina.

            ~Whoa! This is too cool!~ Andrew said that.

             I opened my eyes. The whole entry hall seemed huge. It seemed like I had shrunk. I looked down. I had fur! I heard something. Predators! I should run! I darted across the floor, quick as a mouse, under a chair. My breath came out in ragged gasps. I smelled food nearby. My little stomach gurgled in hunger. I broke cover and ran toward the smell. I couldn't see well with my tiny eyes. I ran right into something. My nose told me it was another pig. Was it friend or foe?

            ~Oliver, are you all right?~ the guinea pig approached me.

            I panicked. I darted to my left, but encountered another pig. I darted to my right, but I ran into a predator. I finally darted back under the chair.

             ~Oliver. Listen. You have to get control! The guinea pig's instincts are controlling you right now! Calm down!~ said Cristina.

            I was myself again. I came out from my hiding spot.

            ~Sorry. That was totally weird.~ I said.

             ~We better morph back before the instincts get one of us.~ Andrew said.

            ~Alright. Let's morph in separate rooms. There's a bathroom down the hall to your left, and there's another bathroom down the hall to your right. There are also two bedrooms down the hall to your left.~ I instructed.

            The other two pigs and the dog went down the left hall. I went into the bathroom in the right hall.

            I thought about being a human again.

            This time I was aware of the changes taking place. I was growing taller and skinnier, and my fur was shrinking. My stubby legs grew longer and developed into hands and feet. My face became flat again, and my nose grew back. I could hear and feel my bones shifting, but it really didn't hurt. I was finally human again.

            I quickly put on my clothes and rushed back into the entry hall to meet the others.    


	4. Andrew

**Chapter 4: Andrew**

            My name is Andrew. That's all I can tell you. You'll never know where I live, what school I go to, not even what side of the road my house is on. It's for my own safety, as well as that of my friends.

            I can tell you this: Sarah, Cristina, Oliver, and I can turn into animals. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. We aren't quite sure how this happened, but we really don't care to know anymore.

            But anyway…..I finished morphing back to my human form and got dressed. That's the downside of doing this; you can't morph clothes. When I was done, I went back out into the hallway to find the others.

            We had brought Cristina's guinea pigs over to Oliver's house to morph into them in secrecy. I had been hoping that it would only be Oliver, me, and Cristina, but Sarah came right before we brought the pigs. Oh well, maybe next time.

            "That was weird, but so much fun!" Cristina said, jumping around and smiling like crazy. "All that José could think about was which one of the girl pigs to go after first."

            I just looked over at Oliver. He and I had morphed into Cristina's two female guinea pigs; Rebecca and Josefina. I had Rebecca, who was calm throughout the entire ordeal; Oliver had Josefina, who Cristina calls the "demon pig" because she is a wicked little piece of fur. Oliver didn't have the easiest time with her.

            "I discovered that you can morph only skin-tight clothes, such as what I'm wearing," she said, indicating the sexy outfit that she was wearing.

            After we put the creatures into their cages, I looked at my watch; it was almost 6p.m.  I had to get going; I didn't have the shortest trip over here.

            "Sorry I gotta leave, but you know it takes me a while to drive over here," I said, searching for my keys. "Have any of you seen……."

            "Looking for these Andrew?" Cristina said, holding up my keys, grinning.

            "How did you get them? I had my keys in my back pocket……"

            "Well now, that's my secret, isn't it," she said, tossing them to me.

            "I gotta get going now too," Sarah said to us, "so I'll se ya'll at school tomorrow, right?"

            "Yup, we'll be there," we replied, not really being able to say anything else.

            A few minutes later, I was in my car, pulling away from Oliver's house.

            "I should try morphing into my dog tonight," I said to myself as I left the neighborhood.

            And that I did, later that night while my parents were sleeping. My dog started to freak, so I had to let it out of the room before I could finish morphing. Morphing into a dog was completely different than morphing into a guinea pig. I had to share my experience with the others at school tomorrow.

************************************************************************

            "Morning Cristina," I said, sneaking up on her, which explains why she elbowed me.

            "Oh, Andrew! I'm sorry; I wouldn't have done that if you hadn't scared me," she said, helping me up from the ground.

            Cristina had this thing about beating people up if they sneak up on her, but that's a good thing, sometimes. I just keep forgetting to keep my distance.

            This sure was an interesting was to start the second week of school. Cristina, Oliver, and I have all of our classes together. Sarah is in our second and last class with us. Right now we have our first class, Show Choir (A.N. I wish I did, but I didn't make it), which is pretty hard to do when you're on the ground.

            "Think you can stand now Andrew?" Oliver said, coming over to us, laughing.

            "You wouldn't be laughing if she did this to you," I replied, standing on my own now.

            We both turned to Cristina. "Ready to dance now?" we asked her.

            "I thought that you'd never ask," she said, springing into action.

            You have no idea how hard it was trying to think about what I was doing while watching her dance. Oliver had the same problem that I did. I can't help the fact that I find Cristina to be so damn irresistible!

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            "I had a good workout today in class," Cristina said as we left the building.

            _"Yeah, my eyes did too," I thought to myself, letting a smirk escape._

            "I guess we gotta head down to Hellth now (A.N. It's an inside joke, but you get the idea)," I said.

            Reaching the room five minutes later, we walked in to find Sarah saving our seats already. It's a good thing she does that for us; we have a very large class. There are never any seats left. 

            That's when I heard someone call my name: "Hey Andrew! 'Sup?" 

            Jake and Marco were sitting behind Sarah. She was sitting next to a new boy, Tobias I think his name is.

            "Hey Jake, Marco! And, Tobias isn't it?" How's it hangin'?"

            Cristina just rolled her eyes, said 'Hello', and sat on the other side of Sarah, between Oliver and myself. She then started talking to Rachel and Cassie, as well as Tobias.

            We were having a great time, just talking about nothing, until our teacher walked in. We call him Snapehart, just because that name makes more sense. (AN. Another inside joke, but if you read Harry Potter and can put 2 and 2 together, then you'll know where the name came from and why. It's actually quite funny and true.)

            "What shit do you think we're going to be stuck doing today?" Oliver asked our group in a whisper.

            Since we've had to go to this class, we've sworn that our teacher isn't normal, that he's plotting something against us every second; other than just an endless supply of busy work.

            "Let's look on the bright side, after this crappy class, the three of us have Chorus, remember?" Cristina said to me and Oliver. "But that's after lunch."

            "Thinking about lunch; Sarah, I turned into my dog last night," I said in the lowest possible whisper I could, yet I still got Jake's attention.

            "No way. You're kidding, aren't you Andrew?" he asked me, getting the attention of Marco, Cassie, Rachel, Tobias, Cristina, and Oliver.

            "I'll tell all of the details at lunch, since we all have it together before third block. Right now isn't the best time," I said, indicating that our coach was headed our way.

            What got my attention was the way that Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias started talking in a secluded little group after I said that. I wondered about that for the rest of class.

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            "I'm so glad that we're out of that prison trap now," Sarah said, on our way to the lunch room.

            Soon we were seated, eating a wide variety of food, Cristina sharing hers with Oliver and me; we had forgotten money and she wasn't hungry.

            "So Andrew, you became your dog last night. Don't tell anyone else about it. Those of us you see here; me, Marco, Cristina, Cassie, Rachel, Tobias, Oliver, Sarah, and you; we can all turn into animals. But we have powerful enemies," Jake told me, as well as the rest of us.

            He then went on to tell us about the evil alien race, the Yeerks, which take complete control of a creature's mind, making them a Controller. Controllers can be ANYONE, from our parents to our best friends, and possibly even our pets. All Yeerks must return to the Yeerk Pool far underground every three days to soak up Kandrona rays, which is their source of food. Hork Bajir are giant, seven-foot tall creatures that were enslaved by the Yeerks. Visser Three is an Andalite-Controller. The Andalites were the supreme beings that created the morphing technology that we now have.

            I was still wondering how we got the ability since we never saw the Andalite Elfangor, who gave the others their morphing power by having them touch a blue cube….

            "That's it!" I said.

            "What's it Andrew?" Cristina asked me.

            "We got our powers from that blue cube. Remember when Sarah picked it up in the construction site? That's the same one the others are talking about," I said.

            "We don't know who's a Human-Controller and who's not, except for a few people. A teacher here at our own school: Snapehart. His Yeerk name is Livednomed-666. I had overheard him speaking to…." Jake stopped.

            Marco continued: "We heard him speaking to Tom about a way to get new Controllers three days from now. We plan to put an end to that."

            RING! The lunch bell just rang. Lunch was over and it was time to head to our third class.

            "This afternoon, the five of us are meeting at my barn. Please come. It involves the four of you now too," Cassie told us as we left the cafeteria.

            "I'll definitely be there," Cristina said, looking very excited.

            "I'll be there too!" Oliver and I said in unison. If Cristina was going, so was I. I can't stand to leave her.

            "I may be a little late, but I'll be there," Sarah said.

            With that said, we left for our classes. After what we were told at lunch, Oliver, Cristina, and I just weren't as into Advance Mixed Chorus as we usually were.

            After that class ended, we headed for Genetics, where we rejoined Sarah and the others. Class just seemed to become ten times more interesting than it already was since we could become animals by absorbing their DNA.

            RING! The last bell of the day rang, releasing us from school. Sarah left as soon as the bell rang; she had somewhere to be. Oliver and Tobias went off to their locker; Cassie and Rachel went out to the buses; and Cristina and I stayed in the room with Jake and Marco and talked for a little while.

            "Cristina, you need a ride home?" I asked.

            "I was going to walk, but since we gotta go to Cassie's, sure Andrew, I'd love a ride," she replied.

            As she headed out the door, I pulled out my keys and winked at Jake and Marco. They just started laughing so hard that Cristina turned around and gave them a look and said, "Guys; will they ever be serious?"

            As I was walking out the door, I turned and asked Jake, "So do we have a name for ourselves now?"

            "Yeah. Marco came up with it: Animorphs," Jake replied.

            Animorphs. That's us now.

            Reaching my car, I opened the passenger side door for Cristina after she had tossed her stuff into the back. She got in, and I got in on my side.

            "So. Do you know how to get to Cassie's house?" I asked.

            "Yup, why do you ask?" she replied.

            "Well, I thought that maybe we could get 'lost' on the way there," I said, looking deep into her sapphire eyes.

            "Depends. Who am I going to be lost with?" She asked, grinning.

            "With me, of course," I replied, getting rather hot at that point from looking at her.

            "Well, let's go 'get lost' then," she said, buckling her seatbelt and letting her hair down in my face.


	5. Sarah

**Chapter 5: Sarah**

                      Hey, it's Sarah again. I don't have much to say right now, so I'll go straight to our story.

                       As scheduled, we met at Cassie's barn that afternoon. My parents couldn't drive me there, so I decided to walk. I didn't want to travel in my dog form, just in case anyone thought I was a stray and tried to pick me up.

                       I was still digesting what Jake and the others had told us earlier today. The whole thing about us being the only hope for Earth was somewhat hard to swallow. I was still thinking the whole thing was yet another one of my strange dreams; but, deep inside, I knew it was all real. Too real, in fact. I had spent my whole childhood wishing for an adventure of such graphic proportions, and now that one had finally come, I wished it would just go away. Part of me was thrilled about having the chance to be a hero, but another part of me wished everything was back to normal. It's funny how mixed people's feelings can be; mine were contradicting each other right now.

                       I walked along the sidewalk that was alongside a major road. Beside the sidewalk were come woods .I was halfway tempted to go into those woods explore, but I had places to go. 

                       I was fingering my cartouche, an Egyptian necklace with my name on it in hieroglyphics, and thinking the whole time. My cartouche was a good luck token of sorts, and it seemed to comfort me during difficult times. Now was most certainly a difficult time.

                       I wanted to tell my parents, but I didn't know if they were Controllers or not. The way my mom was acting lately…Even if they weren't Controllers, they probably wouldn't approve of me being an Animorph anyway since I was their only child.

                     A shadow flying over me yanked me out of my thoughts. I looked up to the sky, blocking out the sun with a single hand. Overhead flew a red-tailed hawk. I could've sworn that this hawk was the one from my home, but I was too far away from my home for that to have been true.

                     ~Sarah? Is that you? It's me, Tobias~ the thought-speech made me jump in shock.

                     "Tobias? You're a hawk?" I gasped.

                     Tobias flew lower and landed on a telephone pole above where I was walking.

                    ~It's a morph I picked up at Cassie's the last time I was there. Pretty cool, eh?~

                     Tobias, if only you knew you would be eventually stuck in that morph.

                     ~Hey, why don't you head into those woods over there, and I'll let you acquire this morph so we can fly to Cassie's together?~

                     I grinned and nodded. I was ecstatic about being a hawk. It was another one of my childhood fantasies coming true.

                     I walked into the woods that were alongside the sidewalk, trying to look normal. 

                     Tobias flew in after me, and landed on an eye-level branch in front of me.

                     ~Go ahead. You'll love this morph!~

                   I hesitantly laid a hand on the side of the hawk's head. I gently stroked his feathers as I thought about being a hawk. He fell into a sort of trance. I had just met him today, but we were already getting along great. He seemed so shy when I first met him, but now he was hardly shy at all. I had met him when I defended him against some bullies at school.

                     ~Oh, I forgot to ask you: Do you have your morphing outfit on?~

                    "Do you mean my skintight clothes? If that's what you mean, I do. But I'm not sure that my parents will approve of me losing my other clothes." 

                     ~We can just come back here and pick them up~

                   "Alright, let's go then."

************************************************************************

                    We arrived at Cassie's on time. We morphed back as soon as we got there. Everyone else was there, except for Cristina and Andrew. I had suspicions as to where they were, but I didn't want to voice them.

                      "I guess the meeting will have to be postponed until they get here." Jake sighed.

                      "I'll take care of the animals until they arrive." Cassie said. Cassie's barn was full of sick and injured animals. Cassie's family rescued and cared for them.

                      My eyes lit up. I happened to love animals.

                      "Can I help?" I asked.

                       Cassie smiled.

                      "Sure!" she laughed.

                       Cassie had a few birds of prey, wolves, foxes, a snake, a beaver, some shy deer, and a few horse in the back. She also had many other animals, but I never got to saw them. We had been caring for the animals just a little bit, when Cristina and Andrew stumbled in.

                      "We have you been?" demanded Oliver. Marco rolled his eyes.

                     "We got lost," explained Andrew. Cristina nodded in agreement.

                      Most of my suspicions were cleared, but not all of them.

                     "Okay. We all came here so we could do a bit of planning. We," said Jake as he gestured to the original five Animorphs "were planning on invading the Yeerk Pool, but we can't do that without some powerful morphs. So, I think we should go to the Gardens and try to get some."

                      "Since my parents work there, we can get in the back of all the exhibits and get to the animals that way." Cassie explained.

                      "I'll do it!" exclaimed Rachel, Cristina, and I in unison. Marco rolled his eyes again.

                       All of the others agreed; Marco had to get persuaded before he agreed.

                      "Alright. Let's meet there tomorrow at 3:00 then." Jake said. Tomorrow was Saturday, so that was good for all of us.

************************************************************************

                      The Gardens were an amusement park and zoo all in one. Its rides were awesome, and its zoo held the largest assortment of animals in the state. I had been to the Gardens frequently, and I loved it every time. This time, we were on a mission.

                     We all arrived on time this time, and went into the hallways behind the exhibits shortly after.

                      "Be careful. Security guards often walk around back here. If they see us, we're in trouble" Cassie instructed quietly. We all nodded.

                      She led us through the hallways carefully. She obviously knew where she was going. 

                       The hallways were damp, and made of concrete. They smelt strongly of animal poop and food. It was an alright smell, in my opinion, but Marco and some of the others wrinkled their noses in disgust. Cassie and I were used to the smell, and had almost gotten to the point of liking it.

                       "Hey kids! What are you doing in here" yelled a voice from behind us. 

                        We had been caught.

                         "Split up!" shouted Oliver. We all agreed instantaneously. The hallways split up where we were at, so we broke up without any problem.

                          Tobias and I went one way, Jake and Cassie went another, Marco and Rachel went another, and Andrew, Cristina, and Oliver went yet another way. I don't know how we hoped to get powerful morphs now.

                        The way Tobias and I had taken lead back out into the public areas of The Gardens. We ran into the crowds then slowed down to a walk. We blended in with the throng.

                       "How are we going to get what we came for now?" moaned Tobias.

                       I grinned mischievously. "Follow me."

                       I grabbed his wrist and lead him through the cluster of people. We soon came upon the big cat exhibit. I lead him up to the jaguar exhibit.

                      The jags were in a large cage that was separated from the public by a large fence. There wasn't a crowd around the cage, and a young man was feeding the jaguars inside the cage.

                     "Wow! How do you feed them like that? Aren't you worried they'll bite you?" I called to him. I smiled sweetly at him and batted my lashes. Tobias gave me a look that said he had no clue what I was doing.

                     "Oh no, man! These jaguars are as tame as housecats! They wouldn't hurt anyone!" he laughed from within the cage. His face was a deep red. My plan, though it was a makeshift one, was working.

                     "Really? I don't know if I believe you. Are you joking?" I asked.

                     "No, I'm not joking!" he exclaimed.

                     I raised my eyebrows at him and hoped I looked doubtful.

                     "Come and see for yourself then, if you still don't believe me." The man in the cage said. "Just climb over the fence."

                     I turned and winked at Tobias. I then climbed gracefully over the fence.

                     "Now, don't approach too quickly. Come up to the cage and pet the black one through the bars." 

                     I walked up to the beautiful black jaguar, and made a show of being really nervous. Tobias watched me with a look of disbelief on his face. I gently stroked the jaguar. It looked at me with its beautiful gold eyes before it fell into a trance. I had acquired it. 

                 "I think he likes you. Now, you better get back on the other side before I get in trouble."

                 "Thank you sir!" I said sweetly. I climbed back over where Tobias was waiting. We heard a commotion at the tiger exhibit.

                 "There's two kids in there!" someone shouted.

                 Tobias and I exchanged exasperated looks before we dashed over. We came face to face with Jake and Cristina, who had just escaped the tiger's pit.

                "Hey guys!" Jake said. Cristina grinned excitedly at us.

************************************************************************

                  The mission was successful. None of us were captured by the security guards, and we did acquire some powerful morphs. Jake and Cristina had acquired tigers; Cristina's was a beautiful white one. Andrew had gotten a rhino, and Rachel had a brand new elephant morph. Oliver somehow managed to get a polar bear, and Marco had gotten a gorilla. Now, we had the weapons we needed to fight.

                 We were ready to invade the Yeerk pool.


	6. Cristina

**Chapter 6: Cristina**

            It's me, Cristina again. You know now that we, the Animorphs, visited The Gardens, a zoo and amusement park combined. I now have a beautiful, yet very powerful white tiger morphs. Andrew can become a rhino, Sarah a black jaguar, and Oliver a polar bear. All of us, that's including Jake, Marco, Tobias, Rachel, and Cassie, are going to the Yeerk Pool at the end of the week, a Friday. 

            But what the others don't know is that Andrew, Sarah and I met at Oliver's house after the meeting to have our own discussion. But some of us got a little distracted on the way there.............

            "Mmmmmm. I never knew getting lost could be so much fun," I mumbled to Andrew, who at that point had his arms around me and was all over my neck.

            He stopped long enough to say, "Of course it's fun. You're with me, and I'm with you. I couldn't ask for very much more." Then he resumed the task at hand, or should I say, mouth.

            I'll explain: Before we had left school that after noon, Andrew offered me a ride over to Cassie's house. Then he asked to 'get lost' with me, so I readily agreed. And that's what we did, in our own way. Andrew folded down all of the back seats of his car, and the two of us got into the back and just went at each other. We didn't do anything too naughty; we just aren't ready for that. But we have been enjoying ourselves. So anyway, back to where we were......

            "Andrew, this button-up blouse of mine is really bothering me. Do you think you could fix that problem?' I asked him, knowing that he would be most grateful to finally do that,

            "May I really? Don't mind if I do," he replied, moving his hands around to my neck, which is where the buttons started.

            One by one he un-buttoned my shirt. I just lay on my back and enjoyed staring at his sexy bare chest leaning over me. But before he un-buttoned the one that would have begun to show what he wanted to see, he went down to the bottom of my shirt and worked his way up. Then he stopped again.

            "Oh Andrew, come on. You only have three buttons left," I said, giving him my best smile.

            "I know, I'm just saving the best for last," he replied, now continuing from the top.

            Finally, he finished un-buttoning my shirt. He let me sit up so I could take off the shirt. I randomly tossed it somewhere in his car. Then I was back down with Andrew back on top of me.

            "Cristina, I thought that you were more beautiful than an angel before. But now I see just how beautiful you really, truly are," he managed to say, even though his mouth was all over my chest.

            All I could do was run my hands over his smooth bare back. Then an idea came to me. I started to move my hands down his shorts; you know, to drive him insane. I was doing a good job of that too, because his kissing of my chest was non-stop now.

            I was going to go further than that when I heard my watch beep.

            "Andrew?"

            "Mmmm?" he attempted to say.

            "What time is it?"

            Stopping long enough to glance at his watch next to us, he replied, "It just turned 7."

            "Shit! We were sposed to be at Oliver's house two and a half hours ago!"

            Both of us sitting up now, he looked at his watch again: "Damn Cristina! You're right! I guess we were enjoying ourselves a little too much. We better go over there now, so they won't worry any more."

            "Yeah, I think we better do that," I replied, looking around for my shirt.

            Putting on my shirt and buttoning it, I watched Andrew put his shirt back on too. Then we both got back into the front of the car, after putting the back seats back up.

            "Andrew, you don't know just how damn sexy I think you are," I said as I buckled myself in.

            "You're one to talk," he replied, starting the car after looking my in the eyes.

            "Thanks for the fun afternoon Andrew," I said once we were on our way.

            "We could continue after our meting if you'd like," he replied, grinning.

            "I wish I could, but I promised Oliver that I would help him with our Genetics homework afterwards. If you want, you could stay if you need help," I said.

            I'm really good in Genetics. It's my favorite class, next to Chorus. I do so well in there; I always finish my homework before the class is over. So I'm always willing to help those who need my help.

            "That's ok, Cristina. I already finished my homework since you explained it to me in class," he replied, looking kind of disappointed.

            Pulling up in front of Oliver's house, I said to Andrew before we got out of the car, "We can continue some other time soon though."

            Walking up to the front door, Andrew gave me one of his irresistible smiles, which was his way of saying 'Great, I'll be waiting till then.'

            Knocking on the door, we were greeted by Sarah, who was looking rather pissed at the moment.

            "Again, where were the two of you? You're two and a half hours late! Oliver and I have been freaking out wondering where the two of you were!" she yelled as we walked into the house.

            We went into the living room and sat in various chairs near the large t.v. that was showing the 'News at 7.'

            I spoke up this time: "Well Sarah, you know as well as I do that guys will never stop and ask for directions. They never ask passengers either. So Andrew wouldn't listen to me when I said that he had to turn left from Cassie's house. He just kept driving for somewhere around an hour until we reach the middle of nowhere. Finally he turns to me and says 'Cristina, I think we're lost.' So for the next hour and a half, I'm stuck telling him how to get back to civilization and then to Oliver's house. That's how we ended up getting so lost."

            Andrew gave me a look that said 'You're a better liar than me.'

            I just smiled back at him, though I made it look like a smile that said 'Guys will never learn.'

            But I could tell that Sarah didn't believe me.

            "Um, Andrew, could you go upstairs and help Oliver with something? It's really important," Sarah said to Andrew.

            "Yeah, I'll go help him. What's it about?"

            "You'll find out soon," she replied as he went upstairs. As soon as she was sure he was out of hearing range, she said to me "Ok. Now tell me what really happened."

            "What are you talking about Sarah? I already told you what happened," I lied, knowing that she had us busted somehow.

            "If you truly did get lost, I don't think that your hair would be as messed up as it is. The same goes for Andrew. Your hair is always perfect, no matter what you do. But it is so screwed up right now. I know that Andrew always spikes his hair, but this time it's even more screwed up than usual," she said quietly to me, to make sure the boys couldn't hear her.

            When she told me this, I rushed to the downstairs bathroom to see if she was lying or if I hadn't noticed the incriminating evidence that said 'Oh yeah, Cristina and Andrew were going at it.' Looking at myself, I saw that she was right; my hair was a mess. I then tried to fix my hair the best I could before Oliver came down.

            Finally I got my hair to look like nothing had happened. Sarah just couldn't stop laughing when I walked beck into the living room.

            "Alright Cristina, now tell me if I'm right: you and Andrew made out for two and a half hours in the back of his car. Right?"

            "Yeah, we did. You caught us," I replied.

            Then I told Sarah the entire story; about us making out, him un-buttoning my shirt, how he didn't have his shirt on, what I was doing with my own hands, and everything like that.

            "Damn! You better not tell Oliver; you know he would become depressed, seeing as how he likes you so much. But of course, Andrew likes you a lot too, as the two of you have proven already," she said to me.

            "I know I can't tell him. And I don't plan to. So please, don't you tell him, ok?" I begged her, not wanting to hurt Oliver or Andrew.

            "I won't tell anyone," she said to me as we heard the boys coming down the stairs.

            "Hey Oliver!" I said as he and Andrew walked into the room.

            I was sitting on the couch, so Oliver came and sat next to me, holding his Genetics textbook with papers already stuffed inside of it.

            "Why all the papers? We haven't taken that many notes yet," I said, looking at him.

            Taking the papers out of his book, he handed them to me: "This is all the information that I could find about that organization called The Sharing."

            Flipping through the papers, I was wondering what he was talking about: "What's 'The Sharing'?"

            "The Sharing is a community group, kind of like the YMCA. But something about it just didn't seem right. So Oliver went online to see what he could find about it," Sarah answered.

            "I didn't really find much about it. To me it seems that 'The Sharing' has secrets that they don't want to have shared except with members," Oliver added.

            "So what's the big deal about it?" Andrew asked as a commercial came over the t.v.

            'Feeling left out and alone? Friends and family abandon you? Or do you just want to be part of something bigger? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then become a member of The Sharing, an organization dedicated to helping everyone live a better life. Join today!'

            Normally that wouldn't be a big deal, unless you saw what we did. The commercial was about to end when it showed the president of the organization: our Hellth coach, a well known Yeerk as we had found out that day.

            "This 'Sharing' thing; it's run by the Yeerks," I said, staring at the t.v. with a blank expression on my face.

            "We know. This commercial comes on every ten minutes. So we've been researching while waiting for the two of you to show up," Oliver said, sounding a little agitated I'm sure because Andrew and I were late.

            "So what are we going to do about it?" I asked, always willing to do something that could be dangerous.

            "We plan on going to visit The Sharing on Wednesday after school. Cristina, you will pretend to want to become a full member. That's how we'll find out what goes on in this so called 'friendly' group," Oliver said to me, causing me to get excited.

            "Oliver will be in the building with her, but he'll be asking other people what they think about The Sharing. You and I Andrew will be waiting here. If they need back-up for some reason, then we will fly over there in less than five minutes, morph back to human, then become our dangerous animals and break in to help. Otherwise, if we all go, they may catch on to us," Sarah said.

            "So are we all in agreement on this?" Oliver asked us.

            "Yes! I most definitely am!" I exclaimed, jumping up from where I was sitting.

            "I'm in too then!" Andrew said, not missing the chance to be with me.

            "Yup, I'll be ready too," Sarah said, also getting up.

            "Great. Now we've settled that, so I'm guessing the rest of you better get home now, since it's getting dark and you know how parents are," Oliver said showing Sarah and Andrew to the door.

            "Yeah. I've still got Math I've gotta get done anyway," Sarah said, walking out the door.

            "I've got stuff to do around the house believe it or not," Andrew said, rolling his eyes as he too walked out.

            As I stood in the doorway waving goodbye to them, I heard Oliver say, "I'm taking my book upstairs. I need to use my computer for something, so meet me up there when they leave."

            Somehow Sarah knew that Oliver couldn't hear her next comment, but that I could.

            "So Andrew......did you have fun making out with Cristina for two and a half hours?"

            "Yeah, but we made out longer than that. We made out before going over to Cassie's for the meeting. I can't believe how beautiful Cristina's..........how the hell did you know?!?!?!?!"

            "Check your hair next time. I don't think you noticed that her hair was a mess when the two of you got here. But she fixed it......"

            That was all I could hear as Andrew got into his car and drove off while Sarah walked home. After I closed the door, I went up the stairs to find Oliver. He was in his room.

            He lives by himself, yet he uses only one room for himself, and of course it's the largest room. All of the other rooms are used as guest rooms, like for when I stay the night to finish a project. But anyway............

            I walked into his room and found him lying on his stomach on his bed, reading through his Genetics book. I climbed up onto his bed and lay next to him, while starting to re-read the chapter over DNA.

            "So, where would you like to begin with this?" I asked, pulling out the worksheet that was our homework.

            Looking up into my eyes, he replied, "Right where it begins to talk about DNA markers and how they are used to identify people."

            "Ok, no problem. Do you understand the part about gel electrophoresis?" I asked, entering another area of expertise of mine.

            "Um.........no, I don't. Could you help me with that too?"

            "Oh sure! Not a problem. Let's start with the DNA markers first, that makes it all easier," I replied to his question.

            Thirty minutes later, I had helped him finish his homework. So we were just laying there on his bed, talking about whatever random stuff popped into our heads. It was quite fun.

            "WINDEX!!" I yelled, causing us both to laugh so hard we cried.

            Finally we got our laughing under control. Then we sat up and faced each other.

            "You know what Oliver?"

            "Hm?"

            "Today was a great day, for a Monday I mean."

            "Really? I could make it be even better."

            "How could you make this day any better Oliver?" I asked, not quite sure what he was talking about.

            That would be when I found out what he meant: He took his shirt off right in front of me. I didn't know what to say. I mean come on! For the second time today, one of my absolute best friends took his shirt of in front of me. And may I mention just how damn sexy Oliver looked right then and there? I was about ready to pass out.

            That's when Oliver shoved me down onto his bed and said, "Does this make your day even better than it already was?"

            "Well, pretty close to that yeah," I replied, staring up into those deep brown eyes.

            "How's this then?" he asked just before he kissed me.

            Ok, so it was a lot more than a kiss. I mean, my tongue was in his mouth! I too got carried away: I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him down onto me. Then we finally had to stop to breathe.

            "Why stop now Oliver?" I asked as he sat up and looked down at me.

            "Well, I can tell that you don't like the shirt you're wearing," he replied as he began to un-button it.

            "_Is today my guys-find-me-to-be-irresistible-and-we-can't-keep-our-shirts-on day or something? I swear it is," I thought to myself._

            "You CAN read minds Oliver," I said, "you can take care of that problem if you wish."

            "I just did," he said as he finished the last button.

            Then, as I did earlier, I sat up long enough to toss my shirt somewhere in the room.

            "That's much better," I said as Oliver pushed me back down.

            As soon as I was back down, he too started to kiss my chest; everywhere. So I resumed what I had started earlier in the day: I ran my hands over his bare back and then down towards his shorts. But I didn't have to stop this time. I was about to get really naughty when the phone rang.

            "Damn our luck!" Oliver shouted as he answered the phone next to the bed. "Hello?"

            "Is Cristina at your house Oliver?"

            "Yes she is. We just finished going over my homework. She was just about to leave. Alright, goodnight."

            "Who was that?" I asked after he had hung up the phone.

            "Your mom. She wanted to know why you weren't home yet because it's almost 10."

            "Ahhhh, spoils my fun," I said, getting off the bed and putting my shirt on.

            Putting his shirt back on, he buttoned mine for me while he was kissing my neck.

            "Sorry to disturb you Oliver, but I guess I have to get going now," I said, unfortunately having to pull away from him.

            "Yeah, I know. Sorry about that. So I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

            "Of course. Goodnight Oliver," I said as I walked out his front door.

            "Goodnight.........my angel on Earth."

            Reaching my room, I didn't even bother to change my clothes. I just jumped onto my bed and lie there on my back; thinking.

            "_Wow. I made out with two guys in one day. How much better does it get! Only Oliver doesn't know that I made out with Andrew, I don't think. And Andrew doesn't know that I made out with Oliver. Wow. Now what the freakin hell do I do?" I asked myself as I drifted off._


	7. Oliver

**Chapter 7: Oliver**

             Author's Note: Hey! Twilight here! To answer the question on Red-Ruby and Fred's reviews: They are joining the original gang, and this only covers the first book.

************************************************************************

            Hello. It's me, Oliver, again.

            Tomorrow we are going to spy on a group known as the Sharing. The whole thing's my idea; I saw a commercial for it on TV, and the spokesperson was our Hellth teacher.

            Our Hellth teacher who just happens to be a pretty well known Yeerk.

            You already know the whole plan since Cristina told you. We're all pretty nervous about the whole thing.

            Yesterday, however, made everything worth it. What can I say? It's not everyday you get to make out with the girl you love.

            I would like to talk about yesterday, or yesterday night (to be precise), but that isn't really important right now. You, our faithful reader, are probably more concerned about what our plan is for today.

            You can relax; our plan is nothing too exciting.

            After school, Sarah and that new kid…Tobias (I think that's his name. I haven't been paying much attention to him. He's somewhat of a loser by the school's standards.) are going to take us to pick up some bird morphs. She keeps prattling on about how great flying really is, and how awesome the bird morphs are. I always ask her where she got hers, but all she does in reply is stare at the ground and blush. I swear, that child can get really annoying sometimes.

            After I've finally heard enough of her ceaseless talking about birds, I decided to go ahead and get a bird morph. Andrew and Cristina had decided to get one long ago, and were waiting for me to give in. 

            To be honest, birds kind of freak me out. They have those small, beady eyes, or those huge, fierce eyes that literally can drill holes through you. They also have those beaks and claws that could scratch your eyes out in a heartbeat.

            Have you ever seen the movie The Birds? I saw that when I was little, and I've been terrified of the feathered scum ever since. 

             I couldn't seem to take my mind off of the bloody birds through Show choir, Hellth, Advanced Mixed Chorus, and Genetics.

            Scenes from The Birds flashed through my head all day. I knew my fears were ridiculous; when you acquire a morph all you have to do is touch the critter and think about being it. The creature always goes into a sort of trance as soon as you touch it, so whatever bird I may decided to acquire will pose no threat to me.

            The idea of just touching it weirded me out, I guess.

            When school was dismissed, a large knot had formed in my stomach, and it felt as though my heart had leapt into my Adam's apple.

            As I walked out to the parking lot, our meeting place, I could feel that my face was paler than a ghost's. The others were already there.

            I grew even paler, if such a thing were possible.

            "Are you alright, Oliver? You're looking kind of pale." Cristina asked with a hint concern in her voice.

            I inwardly grinned.

            Just hearing Cristina filled me with a courage that I couldn't explain, even if I tried.

            I nodded. Cristina smiled at me, and I felt the color return to my face.

            "Let's go then," spoke Sarah. Tobias, who I just noticed was standing beside her, nodded. 

             I had agreed to drive everyone to Cassie's barn, since Andrew's car was being borrowed by his parents and I was the only other one with a license instead of a permit. I drove a Mitsubishi Eclipse and was envied by quite a few of my classmates. 

             I hopped into the driver's seat; Cristina hopped into the passenger seat beside me. I glance in the review at Andrew, expecting to see a look of jealously or anger at Cristina's choice of seats. Instead Andrew met my stare with a smug smirk that unnerved me.

            Did he know what happened last night?

            I half-heartedly started the car and drove towards Cassie's barn. The same barn which had become so familiar ever since we'd figured out we were Animorphs. The same barn in which we would be acquiring our bird morphs.

            I shuddered.

            Like I said, even thinking about birds freaks me out.

            The car trip ended all too soon, and we arrived at the barn. Cassie was still at school making up a test or something, so she wasn't there to help us.

            It was Sarah and Tobias that would assist us in acquiring our morphs.

            They led us into the barn towards the cages where most of the birds were kept. I couldn't help but gasp at the vast assortment of birds that Cassie and her parents were rehabilitating.

            The Audubon Society could've made a whole book solely about the birds in Cassie's barn. They made awful noises, smelt horrible, and created an awful mess. I honestly have no clue how anyone would want to save such disgusting creatures (Twilight's Note: I love birds, actually. It's just Oliver who doesn't like them.).

            "Take your pick." Sarah said calmly. She went to look at the other animals since she already had a bird morph. 

            I strolled along the bird cages, casually peering in one every now and then. I admit it: I was trying to avoid touching a bird as long as possible. It's stupid, I know, but for some reason I'm powerless against my fear.

            I glanced at Cristina, who had already picked a bird. She had chosen a fierce Peregrine Falcon. A fine choice, I must say.

            Of course, anything that Cristina picked I would like. 

            Further down the row of cages, Andrew was acquiring a bald eagle. I was the only one who hasn't decided what to be.

            I continued to pace the cages. Five steps and three cages later, a lone small hawk caught my attention. He was, perhaps, the fiercest looking of them all, which was surprising since he was also the smallest.

            Big things come in small packages, I suppose. 

            "That's a Cooper's Hawk," Cristina informed me. "They're almost as fast as my falcon."

            "I saw one catch a Cardinal once. I was watching the cardinal, when suddenly I saw a blur, then a poof of feathers, and the cardinal was gone. I knew it had to be the Coopers." Sarah, who had evidentially been eavesdropping, piped in. 

            Well, I told myself, it was this guy or no bird at all. I opened the cage and touched its wing. It squawked in protest and made to bite my finger, but it was in a trance before it could move to do so. As soon I acquired it, I pulled my hand out and slammed the cage shut.

            I couldn't believe it. I had actually acquired a bird!

            "Well, should we try out our new morphs?" asked Andrew.

            Cristina glanced at me and winked.

             "Not today. I have to help Oliver with his homework again."

            I grinned at Andrew, hoping that he found my smile convincing. I have a feeling that he didn't believe it in the least.

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A.N.) Alright, sorry about the short chapter, but not all ideas come easily. ForensicFreak14 has the next chapter, so until then, R&R please!


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